Frustrated - asking advise

Hi all, I don't post much here. I'm more of a lurker but I have a problem I'm hoping some savage lovers can help me with.

I have a model 16 pre AT in 243, standard factory 22" barrel, that I put in a bedded and free floated Boyd's laminated stock. I spent the better part of last summer working up hand loads for her and by the end of the fall I could put 2 different bullets into sub 1" groups pretty consistently. She went into the safe last fall and never got hunted. I decided to pull her out last week and give her some love on the bench and maybe a trip or two to find some woodchucks.

The problem is this gun will now not shoot less than a 3" group with the pet hand loads she loved last year. I've run through 60 rounds in the last week and I can't get ANY consistency out of this gun now. I thought maybe it was the stock screws, so I re torqued them, but it made no difference. I even changed scopes thinking I broke the one that was on it but that wasn't it. The final straw was taking my 7mmRM cannon out and putting 5 in an inch after not touching that gun for a year. I also shot 2 different ARs and can keep those in 1" groups without a problem, so I'm pretty confident it isn't me flinching.

So, I'm looking for ideas or suggestions on what the heck went wrong and ideas on how to fix it. Like I said, I bedded the action and free floated the barrel, and she has sat in my safe for about 6 months untouched.

Thanks in advance for the help.

recheck that the barrel and tang are floating. Check your base and rings for tightness.

Did you take it out of the stock to clean it before you put it away?

Any way you could have dinged the crown, or got rust in the barrel?

rings and bases are tight. Crown looks fine and I doubt rust as none of my other guns are experiencing a problem, although this is my only SS gun. I did find that the stock screws were a little loose when I first went looking for the problem the other day, but that was corrected and it didn't help the groups one bit.

She's getting a good cleaning right now and I'll see if that makes any difference, but I doubt it. She only had 50 or so rounds through her when she got put up and I always run a bore snake through 2X when I'm done shooting.

what loads did you have?

are the powders temp sensitive? what where the temps when you made the loads compared to now?

i had this problem with me 243 and RL 17 this winter

Hope this helps

The cleaning may be the problem. Did you run a dry patch down the bore before you shot it? Check for copper buildup? Savages usualy shoot better when having a dirty bore.

El Lobo

Im not saying its your only prob, but ya gotta clean it better than that. After 8 rounds at the most I run a patch of butches bore shine, couple passes with brush, dry patch, Mpro7 patch, dry patch, then light oil patch to simulate lapping. It sounds like a lot, but I guarantee it works and I can def tell a difference when I dont do this. You may have to soak it with a copper cleaner, I like Gunslick. I use it and it still get a lot of copper and carbon out after I've been shooting and cleaning as described.

Are these reloads that you loaded before you put the gun up? If so try taking 5 of them and re-seating the bullet a few thousandths and see how that works for ya. Just enough to break the seal that has formed. You should hear or feel when the seal is broken.

I gave her a good cleaning tonight and I hope to get out and shoot her tomorrow or Tuesday.

jerrriley, If I have to clean a gun that often it's going down the road. I like to shoot guns, not clean them. Seriously, Given the last time I shot it and this week, It's had maybe 100 rounds down it since the last good cleaning. I did use Butch's and got some good blue patches, but not terribly dirty. We'll see.

As for the reloads, I've got 3031 under 70gr NBTs and 90gr NBTs. And yes they were loaded last year. I've never heard of having to break the seal. That's a new one on me.

You gotta so Something while the barrels cooling down :D I hear ya, but it does make the diff between a 1" group and a 1/4 group. good luck tho, if this was too easy it wouldn't be fun

.Your scope coulda took a dump on you..It's been known to happen...

bbassi, Copper or it's oxidation could be the problem, it is an easy solution with modern chemicals. You changd the scope. You proved your ability. You tightened your screws...hey, how did the get loose? Are the scope mount fasteners tight?Lastly.....powder sensitivity. If you are not showing pressure signs go up or down on your load to see if your group changes. If you had your barrel off try neck sizing the brass you have already fired through it, or compare the case headspace before and after. good luck

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I always run a bore snake through 2X when I'm done shooting

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Comments on the above . . . . bore snakes need to be super clean with every use, I only use in emergencies!

My best answer is your stock. I believe it either cast off, or gained moisture. Recheck all of your original bedding tolerances as if it was the first time you ever saw it. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by jerrriley

I'm not saying its your only prob, but ya gotta clean it better than that.

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What he said! I prefer KG products. KG-1 Carbon Remover, KG-12 Big Bore Cleaner copper solvent and KG-2 Bore Polish. Of course a good bore guide, coated rods, copper brushes and quality flannel patches. With a table set up for just cleaning and the gun vise, rods and chemicals in quick reach it really doesn't take but a couple of minutes. I rarely run over 25 rounds in my 1/2 MOA guns without a thorough cleaning. Of course the just for fun ones not so often! ;)

I agree with everything offered thus far.

But I would concentrate on cleaning first.

For me, a wood stock is more likely to shift impact over winter than lose accuracy to the degree you are having.

But a barrel that sits around with fouling can offer some headaches. Particularily carbon build up compounded with copper deposits.

And stainless can be persnickety until it gets broken in.

I would hang in there .......... a friend of mine had a 116 giving him fits .......... I talked him into a cleaning stint with USP or JB bore paste (mild abrassive) and he cured his SS .338 Win mag with it. Stainless can be a tuff nut to crack but once you do ..... you've got a friend for life!!


Three 44s

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Originally Posted by MrMajestic

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Originally Posted by jerrriley

I'm not saying its your only prob, but ya gotta clean it better than that.

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What he said! I prefer KG products. KG-1 Carbon Remover, KG-12 Big Bore Cleaner copper solvent and KG-2 Bore Polish. Of course a good bore guide, coated rods, copper brushes and quality flannel patches. With a table set up for just cleaning and the gun vise, rods and chemicals in quick reach it really doesn't take but a couple of minutes. I rarely run over 25 rounds in my 1/2 MOA guns without a thorough cleaning. Of course the just for fun ones not so often! ;)

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+1!

I could believe a loss of accuracy from being dirty, but 2 minutes after sitting for the winter? this definitely sounds like a bedding, action screw, scope mount problem. These guys are right hit the big stuff first. How many rounds a rifle can handle before a noticeable difference in accuracy is dependent on how smooth of a bore the rifle has. I break all my rifles in with David Tubbs Final Finish bullets. Even at 100 rounds or more in some of the hotter calibers I see very little degradation in accuracy. I will not keep a rifle that will not shoot sub .5 MOA with my handloads most will shoot closer to .25 MOA. Cleaning a bore that is polished like this is so quick and easy it makes it much less of a chore. Just a couple of patches with JB's bore paste and a couple of clean patches and I am done.